CEBRAP Postdoctoral Fellowship: Neoliberalism and Digital Politics

The Law and Democracy Nucleus (NDD) of the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) is opening a call for applications to one (1) funded postdoctoral fellowship to work within the scope of the Thematic Project “Crises of Democracy: Critical Theory and Diagnosis of Present Time” (FAPESP Process nº 2019/22387-0). The project is hosted in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, under the coordination of Professor Marcos Nobre. The fellowship contributes to the project’s general goal of discussing and updating concepts of Critical Theory in the context of the contemporary crisis of democracies. For more information on the process, see: Auxílio à pesquisa 19/22387-0 - Filosofia social, Teoria crítica - BV FAPESP.

The candidate must submit a 4-page synthetic research proposal on the topic of digital politics and new forms of sociability within neoliberalism. In line with the development of the Thematic Project's overall argument, the assumption is that the advance of neoliberalism in social life contributed decisively to undermine the standards of political legitimacy typical of the 20th century. Special consideration should be placed on the new ties of digital sociability and the forms of political action they engender. The research proposal submitted by the candidate, therefore, must focus on these new forms of digital politics and their role in the current crises of democracy.

The following aspects will be evaluated in the research proposal (listed in item 3 of this call, below):

1. Reference to the main bibliographical references on the topic of neoliberal sociability and forms of digital politics;
2. Explicit dialogue with the Thematic Project in which this call is embedded (above);
3. The proposal must be written in a concise and objective way, and it must include an abstract, clear objectives as well as a work plan that can be executed within a two-year timeframe. It is also important to anticipate the submission of at least one academic paper in a high-impact journal.

Requirements

The selected candidate is expected to be assiduous and committed to the activities of the Thematic Project, participating in periodic research and training meetings, seminars, and courses. Among the specific tasks related to this grant, we highlight the production of manuscripts for academic publication, the presentation of the fellow’s research in internal and external seminars, preparation of reports, as well as other activities relevant to the project. The scholarship grant is provided by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), which aims to strengthen the research staff in the state, through the engagement of young scholars in teaching, research, extension, and, eventually, mentoring activities. The application requirements are:

1. To have completed the doctorate no more than 5 years ago (or expect to complete it before the start of the grant);
2. An excellent academic curriculum;
3. A project related to the theme of this call;
4. Full dedication to the project;
5. To be living in São Paulo by the start of the grant;
6. It is the responsibility of foreign candidates, if selected, to verify and obtain legal documentation for entry and permanence in Brazil.

For more information on the candidate's requirements and commitments, please consult FAPESP's general criteria: Post-doctoral fellowships (fapesp.br). It is important to consider, however, that this call is linked to the Thematic Project, and therefore follows specific rules in its selection process. The scholarship grant lasts two years, with an expected starting date of June 1, 2024, depending on the bureaucratic procedures of FAPESP. The current value of the monthly payment of this grant is BRL R$ 9.047,40. The grant also includes a one-time relocation allowance in the value of one month’s payment (for relocations over 50 km), as well as travel fares for the grantee, its spouse, as well as dependents (for relocations over 350 km). Finally, the grant also offers a technical reserve, whose usage rules can be consulted here: FAPESP Technical Reserve.

Applications

Applications will be open until March 24, 2024. Interested parties should send an email entitled “Post-Doc - neoliberalism and digital politics” to the electronic address selecaondd@gmail.com, with the following documents:

1. Curriculum Vitae (up to 2 pages), including main publications;
2. Synthetic research proposal (up to 4 pages), which must be related to the topic described in this call. It must include title, abstract, description of objectives, work plan with methodology, work plan with expected results, and justification;
3. Complete graduate school transcript;
4. Doctorate completion certificate, or letter indicating its completion before the expected start of this grant.

We strongly encourage the application of black, indigenous, and disabled people.

Selection Process

The selection process will take place in two stages.

1. Elimination: analysis of the submitted documentation, considering their adequacy to FAPESP’s criteria and the requirements of this call.
2. Classification: interviews with senior and principal researchers of the Thematic Project. The following criteria will be adopted in the selection process: a) adequacy to the requirements of a postdoc fellow established by FAPESP; b) experience in the area; c) quality of the project, and adequacy to the aims of this call.